Marc,
Thats a nice high quality sounding approach. But it’s a bit
narrowminded. I’ve worked, over the last 30 years, with some
exceptionally talented jewelers and stone setters. While every one of
them will always prefer to set the stone with just metal when
possible, every one of them will also use glue in some, limited
situations. If you’re just setting diamonds and well cut hard stones
in properly made settings, you’ll never need it. But there are plenty
of designs out there, and stones to match, where for one reason or
another, insisting on getting a stone absolutely tight with just the
metal is taking an undue risk with the stone. I’m thinking of large
emeralds, tanzanites, opals, etc. Sure, you get them in, and you set
them with the metal if possible. but when it comes down to that last
little bit of metal that needs to move, and you’re in the least bit
unsure whether it’s totally safe to do so, would you wish to be the
one who risks, say, a fifty thousand dollar stone (or more) just for
the ego trip of getting it set tight with just the metal? Or might
you find that a tiny drop of super glue inconspicuously applied to
take up just that last trace of slack might sometimes be a wise idea?
As has been pointed out already, glues and adhesives of various sorts
have been used since the dawn of time, jewelry wise. And in some
cases, properly used, it will give a far safer and more durable
setting job, with absolutely no compromise in beauty or
craftsmanship. It’s not a question of laziness. It’s a question of
useing the right methods at the right time.
Several examples other than the above ones also occur to me. For
example, when setting opals in closed back bezel cups, I often like to
use a thin layer of silicone sealer (the automotive type of stuff).
The bezel can then be tightened nicely, as usual, but the stone is
resting on a thin rubber cushion. Much much more resistant to
accidental breakage by the customer this way, and the silicon glues
are totally permanent. For some of them, you can use the black
silicone type, which sets off the color of some opals quite well,
though of course you might then need sometimes to mention to
customers that the apparent color of the opal is modified by that
background color, to avoid misconceptions. The effect of this glue is
no different than the usage in some of the largest manufacturers of
class rings, of a soft plastic gasket set on the seat underneath the
stone. It cushions the stone, letting the setting be done by
automatic press type machinery, as well a waterproofing the setting so
water doesn’t seep under the stone. I routinely use a little silicone
sealer any time I have to set a stone in a closed back bezel, IF the
stone is one which will never be subjected to heating. In that use,
the glue only helps the whole piece, and diminishes the craftsmanship
not at all. And so it goes. Consider too, that a glue under a stone
forms a perfect, uniformly supportive full contact seat for the stone,
something which is virtually impossible for even the best setter to
acheive with settng burs or the like, cutting seats in the metal.
You can get the shape very very close, but the actual contact support
is almost never going to be more than a few spots. In setting hard
stones like diamonds in some softer metals like yellow golds or
platinum, the pressure of setting the stone then presses the stone
down the rest of the way forming a perfect seat. But with, say,
peridots or tanzanites going into white gold? (grin) If you need a
perfectly supportive seat (which greatly reduces the chances of
breakage, either in setting or later) with such stones, then a metals
only approach isn’t going to give it to you.
The bottom line is that glues are completely appropriate for some
uses. Not for all of them. But knowing when it’s the right choice
for the most professional job is part of the job of being a jeweler,
and blinding yourself to the fact that it IS appropriate in a number
of cases is just limiting your own options.
Peter Rowe